[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S6272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DR. FRED CHOLICK

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I publicly congratulate Dr. 
Fred Cholick on a very successful career as the dean of the College of 
Agriculture and Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University. 
He has accepted the position as the new dean of agriculture at Kansas 
State University.
  Over the years, Fred has been extraordinarily committed to South 
Dakota agriculture and SDSU. He is one of the most effective 
agriculture spokespersons the State has ever had. He speaks with 
compassion about the benefits of agriculture to our State's economy.
  On a personal level, Fred quickly struck a close working relationship 
with my staff. He enjoyed working with my office when I secured a seat 
on the Senate Appropriations Committee and Fred experienced the same 
learning curve we did as we explored various ways to secure Federal 
funding for SDSU. Despite some setbacks, Fred always kept a positive 
outlook on the very precarious appropriations process and was 
incredibly honored that he had the opportunity to work on projects to 
benefit SDSU and South Dakota's agricultural community. Fred is a real 
ambassador for agriculture in the State and has done a very effective 
job at outreach to get everyone in South Dakota to understand the value 
of our agriculture economy.
  Fred worked hard to ensure SDSU was a reputable university with 
respect to animal health, dairy, ruminant nutrition, biotech and other 
areas of research. He should be given particular credit for working 
with Associate Dean Kevin Kephart to develop the Sun Grant Initiative 
into something that may soon become a reality. His vision for the role 
renewable energy can play in agriculture is cutting edge. Fred has 
always been an effective advocate for all land grant universities, and 
that is why his colleagues around the country selected him as their 
spokesperson. So while always loyal to South Dakota, Fred could 
effectively speak on behalf of all land grant schools across the United 
States.
  He has developed strong relationships with his students as a teacher, 
as well as the dean of agriculture. He worked hard to ensure the 
students in the College of Agriculture were getting personal attention 
and a top-notch education. He cared deeply for those graduating and 
would help them find employment in their respective fields.
  Fred was a real champion of value-added agriculture and worked hard 
to get farmers in South Dakota to understand how to capture larger 
profits from adding value to the raw goods produced on their 
operations.
  Losing Fred is a huge loss to South Dakota and SDSU, and I personally 
know that he struggled with the decision to leave SDSU for Kansas 
State. But, in the end, I think it is his undying commitment to 
agriculture that led him to decide that Kansas State was the right 
move. His kind of leadership and character is exactly what the 
agricultural community needs to evolve and survive in the future. I 
wish nothing but the best for him and his family. It is with great 
honor that I share his impressive accomplishments with my 
colleagues.

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